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Daily Archives: August 4, 2015

I was out biking this morning as usual, listening to my biking playlist on shuffle. Rachel Platten’s song “Fight Song” came on, and I started to think about how great that song is. It just has such passion and a ring of freedom, and I wondered if it would be nominated for any Grammys the coming year. I know the Grammys are months away, but the entry period is ending in September, so I was thinking about which songs/artists will get nominations in December. While reflecting on all that, there are some definite contenders that seem sure to get nominated.

I’m not sure if Rachel Platten will get any nominations. I know she deserves it and I’d be a proud fan to see her there, but the only categories I think she could qualify for are Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance (all for “Fight Song”). My gut is telling me she won’t get nominated (I’m not really sure why, I just have a feeling), but my head thinks that she deserves at least a nod for Song of the Year as the song is so well written musically and lyrically. Plus it has a great, timeless message (like last year’s nominee “Shake it Off,” which deserved those Grammys…). But, there were so many great songs this year by other, more-known artists, and while I think fame shouldn’t be a judging factor, I sometimes feel these awards shows are slightly biased and political. Then again, none of the music blogs I saw (except mine) thought Meghan Trainor had a chance for either of her Grammy nominations last year for “All About That Bass,” and a lot of people were shocked. So, you never know.

Anyway, I wanted to kind of make note of which artists I think are most likely to get nominated so far. Again, it’s early and probably too soon to call, but it’s fun for me:

Taylor Swift: With out a doubt, Taylor Swift will be nominated for several awards, especially Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 1989. In all sincerity, 1989 is by far one of the best albums put out in a decade and is so cohesively and thematically well done it should be no surprise that it will get nominations. I also feel Swift has a chance again this year to pick up a nomination for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance, though I’m not quite sure which song. I totally thought “Blank Space” could be nominated for Record of the Year, but with the recent success of “Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar),” I think that could be nominated. I also think she could get her first nomination for Best Music Video, again either for “Blank Space” or “Bad Blood.” I think she has a better shot at it being for “Bad Blood” since it has such a strong theme of feminism; “Blank Space,” I believe is Swift’s most viewed music video on Youtube/Vevo, so that may be nominated over “Bad Blood.” Similarly, “Bad Blood” could be nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (or Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, depending on how they categorize it…I mean, it’s a pop song, but Kendrick Lamar does have a fair amount of rapping and I’m not sure of the official rule). Anyway, I’m not sure about the song/video categories, but I’m almost certain that 1989 will get those two album nominations. If not, then I’m boycotting the Grammys because it seriously deserves it.

Meghan Trainor: While Meghan Trainor was a surprise at last year’s Grammys, I think she quite honestly deserves a Best New Artist nomination. She couldn’t qualify last year because her “significant work” (aka Title) was not released during the period. Since Trainor has really incorporated a lot of different twists into her music and defined pop music in a new way, she definitely deserves some sort of nomination. I also think she could get nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album for Title because her vocal work is incredible on that album. There is the possibility she could get nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her duet with John Legend “Like I’m Gonna Lose You.” I doubt “Lips Are Movin,'” her follow up hit to “All About That Bass” will get any nominations despite it being a great song, but there is always the possibility it could get a Best Pop Solo Performance, Song of the Year, and/or Record of the Year nomination.

Mark Ronson: Who can forget “Uptown Funk.” Literally, every radio station in my area played it non-stop for like four months. So, I think “Uptown Funk” with Bruno Mars could get nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Wiz Khalifa: “See You Again” was such a huge anthem this year that it definitely deserves nods in Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and possibly Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (or Best Rap/Sung Collaboration…again, I’m not sure how they define that). It also could be nominated for Best Song Written for a Visual Media because I believe it was written for Furious 7.

Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly was another huge album this past year, and I think Kendrick Lamar will be nominated for Best Rap Album, and quite possibly Album of the Year again.

The Weeknd: Undoubtedly the Weeknd had an incredible year with the release of his massive hits “Earned It,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “The Hills,” as well has album Beauty Behind the Madness. His works definitely makes him a contender for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album (or whatever genre they categorize his album) for Beauty Behind the Madness, and possibly Song and Record of the Year for either “Can’t Feel My Face” or “The Hills.” I personally think he’ll get the nomination for “Can’t Feel My Face” for Record of the Year and has a good shot at winning it. I also think he could perhaps get a nod (and maybe win) Best New Artist, but I don’t know if he qualifies. Best New Artist is one of those categories that I’m not sure how the Grammys defines the qualifications. It’s supposed to be an artist who releases a breakthrough album that establishes the artist during the Grammy period, like the Weeknd seemed to do, although he did have a big debut with his first album Kiss Land. However, Ed Sheehan released “The A Team” and was nominated for Song of the Year a couples years ago and then the following year after that nomination he was nominated for Best New Artist, even though the prior year would have been the year he “established” himself. There have been other instances like that were it doesn’t quite add up. But, I definitely think the Weeknd should fit that category.

Anyway, those are the thoughts that I had while biking this morning, and I just wanted to put them out there…if I have anymore brainwaves, I’ll add to the list. Again, take this all with a grain of salt because I’m getting way ahead of myself and you never really know who will get nominated. Although, I’d like to point out that I predicted all the nominees last year for Record of the Year (and I was pretty spot on with the others, but Record of the Year was the only category I guessed them all right).